Nasopharingeal aspirate value in paediatric chronic lower respiratory tract illness

Respiratory viruses are a common cause of illness in children and are responsible for high morbidity and hospitalisation [1]. The role of infectious agents in chronic/recurrent lower respiratory tract illness (LRTI) is not clearly defined, whereas it is well known in acute forms and in exacerbation of respiratory diseases [2–4]. We have previously demonstrated a high frequency of viruses, particularly human rhinovirus (HRV), in children affected by chronic/recurrent LRTI whose bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) showed changes in cellularity and inflammatory cytokines [5]. BAL is the gold standard for sensitive detection of infective agents of the lower respiratory tract, even if invasive. Nasopharyngeal aspirate (NPA), nasopharyngeal swab and nasal wash have been investigated to find an easier and more reliable technique for viral diagnosis but never in children affected by different forms of chronic/recurrent LRTI [6–8]. Our study aimed to investigate the presence of viral genomes testing the value of NPA in comparison with BAL in a large paediatric population affected by different forms of chronic/recurrent LRTI.

Source: European Respiratory Journal - June 7, 2018 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Lunardi, F., Vuljan, S. E., Perissinotto, E., Pezzuto, F., Malacrida, S., Bugin, S., Bertozzi, I., Snijders, D., Rizzo, S., Barbato, A., Calabrese, F. Tags: Original Articles: Research letters Source Type: research